“He is.” Her voice sounded strangled and a tear trailed down her cheek, telling him she was genuinely upset.
If only his own feelings could be dismissed as mildly. “Bye, Livvy.”
He turned away before he was tempted to do something stupid, like kiss her, then drop to his knees and beg to be more than her fuck buddy.
Eyes stinging, his feet like lumps of lead, he made his way toward the tube. A stupid, optimistic part of him waited for her to rush up behind him. Tell him she wanted more too. It didn’t happen, because Olivia Davies had loftier goals than dating a single dad who was barely keeping his shit together coping with work and Ellie.
Ellie.
At the last minute, he diverted away from the station; the thought of sitting on a cramped tube made his gut roll. Instead, he walked west along the river, hunching his shoulders against the cold. Maybe the air and the exercise would clear his head enough that when he saw Ellie again, he could be the dad she needed him to be. A dad focused on her and not on the aching hole in his chest.
The breeze from the Thames whipped around his face as he trudged along the embankment. After a quick glance at the time on his phone, he realized she’d still be awake.
“Hi, it’s me,” he said when his mum answered his call. “Change of plan. I’ll be home tonight, so tell Ellie I’ll pick her up.”
“Your woman ditched you, did she?”
He flinched. “Funny how you automatically assume it’s that way round.”
“You told me she was smart. A smart woman doesn’t want a guy who plays fast and loose.”
Didn’t matter his mum’s evidence came from his teens or that, since Ellie, he’d practically been a frigging monk. “I’ll be with you about nine.”
“Ellie will be asleep by then.”
“She won’t mind me lifting her up and carrying her home. I’ve done it before.” And he needed Ellie back with him tonight.
“Fine, she’s your daughter.”
“Yes,” he replied firmly, proudly. “She is.”
My girl.He had the honor of being called Dad. Of being the person Ellie wanted when she was upset or when she’d done well or when she was tired. He was the one who made her laugh the loudest, the one she came to for a hug.
He washerperson.
It made everything else in his life, even losing Olivia, bearable.
Chapter 23
Olivia smiled down at two-month-old Tabby as she lay on her back, playing with her baby gym.
“She’s getting so big.”
Jessica laughed from the kitchen, where she was making a pot of tea. “She’s a greedy guts, that’s why. I can’t wait to start weening her. Let her dad and her siblings pick up some of the responsibility of feeding her.”
“She’s beautiful.” Olivia’s mum stared at her granddaughter fondly and reached out a finger for Tabby to grab. “Just like you all were.”
“Only a mum could say that,” Ashley remarked dryly as she hunkered down beside Tabby and gave her tummy a tickle, causing Tabby to squeal with baby giggles.
Olivia watched as they fussed over Tabby. They all knew how to get a response from her because they’d all had children. Again, she was the outsider.Like Dad. The thought was uncomfortable.
“Where are this little one’s siblings today?” Ashley asked, giving Tabby an indulgent smile.
“Nick took them all out to the park. It’s become a Saturday-morning tradition since Tabby arrived. They’ll be back in a bit, but I thought it would be nice to have some time for just us girls.” Jessica settled a tray, complete with teapot, mugs, and a mountain of biscuits, on the coffee table. “You know, talk aboutmen.” As Olivia’s heart thumped, Jessica turned to Ashley. “How’s Aaron?”
Ashely beamed as she sat down next to her on the sofa and poured out the tea. “He’s amazing. I can’t believe it’s been only a month or so since our first date. We’re taking it slowly, we’ve both been burned, but so far, so bloody brilliant.”
Three pairs of eyes swiveled to focus on Olivia. “How about you, Liv?” Ashley asked. “How’s the delectable Connor?”
